By Chris Hedges —One of our most trenchant critics of corporate capitalism deplores the rise of an "extreme center" that has seized control of the political process and does the bidding of corporations. Our only hope, he says, is revolt.

This week on Truthdig Radio in association with KPFK: It’s Peter Scheer’s last show. Also, a retired federal agent is for the legalization of all drugs; the United States hates controversial art; the Veterans Affairs secretary is a liar; and more.

For “Prime Minister Netanyahu and the hawks in Congress, mostly Republican, the primary goal is to undermine any potential negotiation that might settle whatever issue there is with Iran,” the renowned political commentator and linguist tells Amy Goodman on a recent episode of “Democracy Now!”

You may have heard what Presidents Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko have said about the Ukraine crisis, but what do young people whose lives are being affected by the conflict between the two countries have to say about it?

The video of the shooting in Los Angeles “shows you what the problem is, in essence: that the police force in certain sections are out of control, and there are ... members of the human community whose life doesn’t have value,” the comedian and commentator says.

The “Last Week Tonight” host knows maintaining “roads, bridges, dams, levees ... basically anything that can be destroyed in an action movie” isn’t exactly the most exciting topic, but it sure is important.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is stridently and continually harping on the alleged dangers of Iran to Israel’s security. And yet, there are, in fact, more pressing dangers to Israel than Iran’s nuclear reactors.

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a bid to thwart President Barack Obama’s foreign policy toward Iran, the Iranian press is reacting to the wrench Netanyahu is trying to throw into negotiations over Iran’s civilian nuclear enrichment program. But for some odd reason, American mass media are almost never interested in what critics of the United States are saying.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clearly believes he can openly side with the Republican Congress against President Barack Obama without facing any consequences. However, Meir Dagan, the former head of Israeli intelligence, sees danger.

One of the many uncomfortable realities that we all are increasingly obliged to accept, at least on a practical level, is that the many gadgets that power our personal and professional lives can’t ever be fully shielded from prying eyes.

President Nicolas Maduro announced Saturday that fewer U.S. diplomats will be allowed to work in Venezuela and visas will be required for Americans traveling there, in what amounts to a sign of deteriorating relations between the two countries.

Truthdig Editor-in-Chief Robert Scheer and the other “Left, Right & Center” panelists discuss the applause that Israel received at the Conservative Political Action Conference, a “clean” funding bill that keeps the Department of Homeland Security open without picking a fight over immigration rules, and the announcement that marijuana is now legal in Washington, D.C.

Barack Obama “makes George W. Bush and Richard Nixon look good by comparison,” Truthdig’s editor-in-chief told Salon in an interview about his new book, “They Know Everything About You: How Data-Collecting Corporations and Snooping Government Agencies Are Destroying Democracy.”

In just a couple of years, the first human head transplant surgery is set to take place; a black hole 12 billion times the size of the sun is making scientists rethink a widely accepted theory; meanwhile, the Iranian version of street artist Banksy delves into “Iran’s turbulent past” with his work. These discoveries and more after the jump.